A Lethbridge College student athlete works out alone after new COVID-19 restrictions stopped group sports from practicing together; however, Lethbridge College’s fitness centre remains open.
Lethbridge College recreation services and Kodiak athletic teams are adjusting to the new restrictions before the holiday break arrives.
Part of the new restrictions announced by the Alberta government and Alberta Health Services last month included the postponing of group activities, affecting all Kodiak teams.
Lethbridge College’s men’s volleyball team has halted group practices and their players have begun focusing on physical training. Greg Gibos, men’s volleyball head coach says the team has shifted their mindset from volleyball to more physical attributes, setting a team goal for the next eight weeks.
“We’ve shifted our focus of goals from a team goal of winning a provincial banner to some physical goals. Let’s get some weight on our bodies, let’s jump a little higher, let’s be a little more physical and those are the things that will be focused on for the eight-week cycle before the restrictions are lifted again.”
The team is unable to get together in person forcing them to move meetings online. They are also scheduling different activities to help maintain a sense of community during the eight-week cycle. Gibos says his players and coaching staff are missing the face-to-face interaction so trying to work on skills together virtually is an added bonus.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We are meeting over Zoom, we’re going to do like a Zoom Christmas party and we’re going to do a Zoom yoga session. Our assistant coach here at the college is a certified yoga instructor so he’s going to take them through a Zoom session. I’m even looking at doing a spin class together with some of the bikes, they’re also playing the game Among Us to keep each other engaged.”
The cancellation of the ACAC competition has been felt by the men’s volleyball team. Gibos says some guys might not have the chance to play again and all athletes take pride in wearing the Kodiaks jersey and logo.
“We understand the restrictions, but for some guys it’s been devastating. A lot of our athletes, they put three years into this program and they really look forward to coming into the gym on a Friday night with their friends and family in the crowd and 900 people cheering them on.”
The decision to cancel didn’t come easy, but health and safety is paramount. Todd Caughlin, manager of athletics says the Kodiaks are taking it the best they can, they understand and both athletes and coaches have done a great job so far.
“Without any competition it’s kind of hard to keep motivated so, taking this little bit of a longer break, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s COVID and you have to make the right decisions and [the athletes] understand that. Now we look forward to January.”
As for recreation services, they have limited the access to 25 per cent and all group activities have been cancelled. Caughlin says they’ve kept the same cleaning protocols and have only made a few slight changes.
“Nobody can come in without checking in, you have to do the COVID survey ahead of time, answer the questions and then once you’re in we’ve got extra cleaning stations, we’ve got staff that are doing cleaning in between each workout block, we’ve limited the amount of time in the workout block and the amount of people.”
Gibos says all student athletes will receive their scholarships and they’re grateful to have the opportunity to still have some of their tuition subsidized by the college.
“Our executive team here at Lethbridge College, they have been so supportive of our student athletes. We’re really appreciative that the college is still honoring that so every athlete for fall and winter as long as they maintain their GPA’s to the standards of our Kodiaks agreement, they will be given their scholarship money.”
Caughlin and Gibos are both hopeful that next semester the Kodiaks will be able to host exhibition games with other post-secondary schools from Alberta.
“We can simulate competition on a Friday night together versus each other, but it doesn’t give you those butterflies in your stomach [compared to] when you see a guy from Medicine Hat across the net from you,” said Gibos.
For the first two weeks after the Christmas break, the college will have limited access on campus to help slow the spread of COVID-19, with the fitness centre schedule to reopen on Jan. 18.
